The Circuit Court judge, who used to lead the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and for five years was a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, handled complex and touchy matters with crispness and humor—plus a bit of curtness that signals his distaste for shenanigans. At one point he told lawyers on both sides they should craft arguments that were useful rather than ones that would “get the best media sound bites.” If ever a case needed a dose of sharp sobriety, it is this one.

The Circuit Court judge, who used to lead the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and for five years was a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, handled complex and touchy matters with crispness and humor—plus a bit of curtness that signals his distaste for shenanigans. At one point he told lawyers on both sides they should craft arguments that were useful rather than ones that would “get the best media sound bites.” If ever a case needed a dose of sharp sobriety, it is this one. (Illustration by Alex Fine)

On Wednesday, former Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts was part of a panel at Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg where he claimed that Baltimore Police officers “took a knee” in order to get him fired, a shocking claim that would in part explain the crime rate going up. “Is this going to be the tactic, where police don't feel supported, so they allow the crime rate to go up, and the reformers lose their job?” Batts asked. His candor about the alleged police slowdown following the death of Freddie Gray and the Baltimore Uprising is admirable and it will be interesting to see what else Batts reveals as he makes the post-firing rounds.

On Wednesday, former Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts was part of a panel at Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg where he claimed that Baltimore Police officers “took a knee” in order to get him fired, a shocking claim that would in part explain the crime rate going up. “Is this going to be the tactic, where police don't feel supported, so they allow the crime rate to go up, and the reformers lose their job?” Batts asked. His candor about the alleged police slowdown following the death of Freddie Gray and the Baltimore Uprising is admirable and it will be interesting to see what else Batts reveals as he makes the post-firing rounds. (Illustration by Alex Fine)